


Falling in the black

by moons-of-mars (moonsofmars)



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Angst, Barbare Lake (mentioned), Claire Nuñez (mentioned) - Freeform, Episode: s03e10 A House Divided, Gen, I'm Bad At Tagging, Jim suffers here, My First Work in This Fandom, Pain, Toby Domzalski (mentioned) - Freeform, What Have I Done, but we all know how things went so it's okay, i guess, or what happened after Jim got into that bathtub, other characters are mentioned too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26651194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonsofmars/pseuds/moons-of-mars
Summary: Settled after the end of season 3 episode 10,A House Divided.My take on what happened to Jim after he submerged himself in Merlin's potion, his thoughts, his transformation and how it felt.
Relationships: Jim Lake Jr. (Tales of Arcadia) & Everyone, implied Jim Lake Jr/Claire Nuñez
Comments: 7
Kudos: 26





	Falling in the black

**Author's Note:**

> So, I binge-watched Trollhunters and loved every second of it! I just felt like writing something for it even though I'm super late in the fandom. After watching this episode I started to imagine how Jim's transformation could have worked and at the end, I had to write this down. I hope that someone will appreciate it!
> 
> Enjoy!

_"Jim! Jim, are you in there?"_

_"Jim! What's happening? Please let us in! Are you okay?"_

_"Jimbo!"_

_"Jim! Jim!"_

_"Jim! They've freed Morgana!"_

Merlin's potion feels thicker than water around his leg when he finally steps into the bathtub. It filters through the chinks of his armour, a lukewarm touch against his calves, then around his belly, his chest, his shoulders, his neck. Jim doesn't think as he lies down and doesn't listen to the screams behind the door. What they say doesn't matter, _can't_ matter anymore - not now that Morgana is free and the Eternal night is coming and _he is not strong enough to stop it_. He closes his eyes before the black water can submerge him completely and takes a last, feeble breath. Then, it's darkness. 

He hardly hears the open bursting open and a voice - _mom_ \- calling his name, but it's muffled and growing more distant every passing second. The only sound echoing strong and clear in his ears is the love thudding of his heartbeat. The bathtub is gone too, and now he is sinking, slowly, as if in the dark depths of a lake. Concern clenches his stomach - he can't hold his breath for long - but he tries to relax and keeps still. If Merlin wanted to kill him, he would have found more efficient ways than making him drow himself in the bathtub. This is going to work. He just has to wait. 

At first, it's not even that bad. It's quiet and peaceful, and in this semi-darkness, Jim feels like he is frozen in time. No one can reach him here - not Gunmar or Angor Rot, not Morgana, not even Merlin. Not the crushing weight of the knowledge that he won't be able to protect anyone. Here, he is not the Trollhunter and he doesn't have to make impossible decisions. Here, he is Jim. Just Jim. 

Then the pain starts, and he screams. It radiates from his chest, from the Amulet, that suddenly shines so brightly that he can see it behind his closed eyelids. Like burning vines, it reaches for the rest of his body, wrapping around his legs and climbing his neck and head. It _hurts_. He screams again but no sound leaves his mouth - he is trapped in silence and he can't breathe, god, he can't _breathe_. His muscles tense and spasm and his bones crack, as they were broken and then reformed. He snaps his eyes open but he finds no relief or help in the darkness, nor in the pulsing blue light of his Amulet. He is alone with his pain. 

Moving his limbs is excruciating, but it doesn't stop him from trying to - to swim? To go back to the safety of his bathroom, to his friends, to his family? Jim doesn't know, he only knows that it hurts and that he wants it to stop - _Now!_ , he thinks, squeezing his eyes and sobbing, _Please, make it stop!_

It doesn't stop. 

He calls for his mother as his skin melts and then harden, he calls for Claire as his skull explodes and twists in impossible ways. He calls for Tobes and for Blinky and for Aaarrrgghh as his fingers deform and stretch, his teeth expand, his muscles burn. He calls for them even though his voice makes no sound, even though he knows they can't hear him nor help him. He left them behind, again, and now he has to deal with the consequences. 

He doesn't know how long it takes before the pain starts to fade, he only knows that when his eyes flutter open, the blue light of his Amulet still shines and pulses on his chest. Around him, it's still black. He still can't breathe, his body aches and itches, but he can't fight anymore and lets his eyes fall close again, throwing him in complete darkness. Before his mind slips into unconsciousness, his last thoughts are for them. He sees his mother’s smile, feels Claire’s hand tighten around his, hears Toby and Aaarrrgghh laugh and smells the ancient scent of parchment that Blinky brings with him. Thinking is hard as his head feels light and pulses with pain, but making an effort, he can imagine watching them like they were right in front of him. _I'm sorry_ , he tells them, as the image fades, _I’m so sorry_. 

He can only hope that whatever he did to himself will save them all. This is the only thing that matter now. 


End file.
